After she came
by Missbythebook
Summary: The prompt: Your ship plans to travel overseas. Do they spend time learning about the country beforehand? How long do they spend overseas?
1. Chapter 1

So this is the time I'm publishing a story. The prompt was: Your ship plans to travel overseas. Do they spend time learning about the country beforehand? How long do they spend overseas?

Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I may have strayed from the original idea though.

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Her daily yoga practice had taught her to focus on her breath, and that's exactly what she was doing right now. Focusing on her breath, trying her best not to panic.

Breath in -21, 22, 23 – breath out – 21, 22, 23. Everything would be alright.

But in reality she couldn't know that, hell she couldn't know anything, her silk scarf she'd used to tie her orange blouse into her brown business suit was now covering her eyes. A roll of gauze bandage most likely stolen from the clinic holding her wrists hostage behind her back.

Just as another wave of panic was slowly taking hold of her body she felt a familiar sensation... as if... Yes someone was watching out for her. She couldn't see, but she knew it with every fibre of her being. Hearing the unmistakable sound of a cane hitting the floor beneath instantly soothed her. There was only one person who could have put her through this.

As soon as she'd relaxed though, knowing she'd get out alive... and that's when she tensed anew. This time not because of fear for her life but rather rage, anger, balling her hands into fists, her knuckles turning white from the strain. This time he'd gone to far, having her manhandled, taken forcefully from her work and brought here. All the oxygen on this earth wouldn't calm her now as she bellowed out his name, followed by a slew of curse words. Too distracted to notice the chuckle from the man behind her.

"What the fuck were you thinking? Hell, you probably weren't thinking at all. This is it, you're fired!" She spit out, her hands and eyes still tied, one petite ball of furry ready to attack when she'd regained her freedom.

Shuffling to her side and behind her told Cuddy that the two men whom had brought her here were leaving her alone with House. "At least there won't be witnesses when I'll have your head." She sneered, he could be so irresponsible and childish, infuriating but on the other hand she did love him.

Most of the time, right now she certainly didn't.

What she couldn't see thought was the smirk plastered on her lover's face, right now she might be cursing him, vowing to never ever trust him again but once she'd see what he had in store she'd kiss his feet. Or at least he hoped. Prostitutes were becoming expensive he thought somberly. Not that any of them could measure up to her, or even hold a candle to Patti and Selma – he admitted, letting his gaze wander before limping closer.

"Ouch" She interrupted herself as the scarf caught in her hair. 'Don't be such a baby' was on the tip of House's tongue but seeing as she was ready to cut his balls right then and there he opted for a mumbled, "Didn't mean to." It was the closest he'd ever come to an apology, not that she cared, right now she just wanted to -

That's when she saw it, below the window in front of her lay the airport of Princeton. She'd last been here coming back from that conference, also with House.

While Cuddy was staring ahead, trying to find out what exactly was happening House fumbled with the knot that held her hands, it was unyielding and having only one hand didn't help - the other supported him on his cane. Just as he managed to free her she spun around, facing him, confusion and excitement replacing her earlier anger but he wasn't fooled, the fire of rage was just momentarily pushed aside.

"Remember that trip you promised me last weekend... after you came." He had meant to point out how she came to him but just as he was making the statement the double entré popped into his head and he couldn't help himself, his features setting into a lecherous smirk. He could see she opened her mouth to protest but what was she gonna say? That the sex hadn't been mind-blowing? That she wasn't head over heels for him and had been for the past 2 decades? Oh she couldn't really say anything, only fueling his arrogance further.

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English isn't my native language so I'm happy for any constructive criticism and I do hope you enjoyed this, more to follow very soon.


	2. Chapter 2

For once in her life Cuddy didn't have all the control in her life, she hadn't checked the schedules, hadn't packed. No, Greg House – miserable, sometimes cold yet somehow hopeless romantic – had done all that for his love. And that he loved her House didn't leave any doubt.

Somehow he had managed to reschedule all of her important meetings – the ones deemed less important he'd outright canceled – and now she was sitting in the pressurized cabin of a plane, just waiting for the captain to announce that they would start their descend to their destination: Paris. Still in her pencil skirt she hadn't been able to get much rest the last 5 and a half hours – a fact she was sure even House had picked up by now. Usually she would have chosen slacks... but after all even a genius like House couldn't think of it all. First she'd reminded herself to be grateful that he took her to Mont St. Michael but as time dragged on she became increasingly more uncomfortable, squirming in her seat trying to keep her legs from falling asleep.

She couldn't recount how many times she'd chastised Rachel for similar behavior during dinner at her grandmothers, now she understood the torment of uncomfortable clothing. As her thoughts drifted to Rachel a smile spread on her face, how was her little angel? How would she handle being away from her mother for a whole week. Of course the rational woman in her knew that Julia would take excellent care of her – after all she was the good sister, the one with a husband and several biological children, she could hear her mother say – but the mother in Cuddy worried. What if something happened? What if Rachel got scared? What if she wouldn't even miss Cuddy?

Seeing her faraway look in her eyes and the smile on her face sent a warmth through House's body he'd never thought possible, knowing she was his for the next 7 days made his body tingle with excitement.

"Thinking about joining the mile high club are we?" He stage whispered, leering at Cuddy and bringing her back to reality. Her perfectly plucked eyebrows shot up in surprise. In fact she couldn't say that she'd never thought about it, however it had never worked out.

A familiar warmth coiling deep in her belly, gathering herself quickly she couldn't keep her eyes from betraying her innermost feelings. "Well as a matter of fact..." Her hand landed on his knee, slowly stroking up to his mid – thigh and then down to his knee again, just to repeat the same path over. A rare expression of astonish was taking hold of House's face. Never had she considered such a thing, never had he thought he'd get her to even consider his fantasy, when she had been a young and adventurous girl she hadn't had the financial means to fly and later she had simply grown up. But House somehow managed to always tickle the unexpected side out of her, the one she so desperately tried to hide when she was Dean of Medicine at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.

On the other hand though, right now she was no Dean she was simply Lisa, starting her vacation and smitten by her boyfriend.

And didn't he deserve a little something something for taking care of her?

Seeing her squirm in her seat again House just thought that she was uncomfortable again, he didn't even notice that she'd unbuckled herself and squirmed to the aisle, stopping with each leg of her legs on either side of him. "Take at least a couple of minutes before you follow me." Cuddy instructed, brushing his lower stomach, just above his waistline with her tiny fingers before she headed to the front bathrooms. Maybe she was a just a woman, a very turned on one at the moment, but she didn't wanna have a plane load of people see her as just a slut. And she sure didn't want to get caught.

Cuddy wasn't one to fool around with her plan, adding a little extra sway to her hips for his benefit as she strode to the front of the cabin, feeling his eyes roaming every centimeter of her backside, making her feel warm and safe and oh so damp till she finally disappeared behind the curtain.

Had it been up to him he would have jumped up and followed her right away. If he was honest he'd even have jumped her in the crowded cabin. But he respected her too much and he'd had to kill every guy or lesbian who even dared to look at his Cuddy in any state of undress. So patiently, he waited, staring at his watch, while his heart thumped heavily in his chest.

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Written out sex scene in the next chaper or not? I'm not quite sure yet...

Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Linda: If so only in later chapters, sorry, I still hope you will find the story interesting/entertaining/amusing ;)

Thanks for the reviews lovelies, it really made my day =D


	3. Chapter 3

I am so sorry for the lack of updates. I wanted to update this once a day... Two broken laptops - and a broken cell later - I'm back and ready to update. I'm writing up another chapter right away. Sorry hope some of you will still care. Again let me know what you think.

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"I owe Wilson 150 bucks..." He broke the silence, staring at the dirty ground before him.

"Nobody, absolutely NO body at the hospital can know about this. I can't even believe you talked me into this." House was scared to even look at her, just by the tone of her voice he knew she'd rival Regan McNeil – at that he smirked – maybe her head would start to spin. Though he sure as hell had no interest in cleaning out her stomach contents. Fiddling with his fingers he wondered briefly if exorcism would work on a Jude... or maybe he'd have to get a Rabbi to do hers. Or do it himself. Oh that could be fun.

Looking at him Cuddy saw him smirking... smirking! They were spending the first day of their first vacation together at a French Police station. Grunting she didn't even know what else to say or do so she just boxed him in his shoulder, hard, out of frustration and hoping to wipe that stupid smirk off his face. And it did, groaning and rubbing his shoulder, suppressing a snide comment about her unknown potential for BDSM. Good thing they'd told HR about their relationship, as it was they could maybe still be penalized and lose their jobs, especially her, if word got out.

"Mr. and Mrs. House?" One of the officers approached them, speaking with a heavy French accent. House was just opening his mouth, no doubt to say something smart assed when Cuddy spoke up. "I am Dr. Cuddy, and this is Dr. House, we're not married." Earning House an almost complementary nod, making her grind her teeth shut.

"If you just sign here." He held a clipboard out to House, but before he could even take a look at it, Cuddy took it out of the officers hands a tight smile settling her face. Wanting to finish off their business in the little aisle, the station was packed and it was clear that the officer wanted to call it a day, some of his colleagues having left hours ago when House and Cuddy had first been brought in. Despite the long day Cuddy looked poised, prim and proper, yet commanding respect. She had given up skimming over the form she was asked to sign after a meager paragraph – the little French she'd learned in school long forgotten.

"You will be able to pay the fine within 21 days of receiving the letter." That's when both their heads snapped, locking on the officers face. "What fine?!" House was quicker to regain his voice, sounding like he wanted to rip the poor man's head off.

"The 350 € your wi- erm... Dr. Cuddy just signed for. "You little pun-" With a hand on his arm and her raised voice Cuddy managed to drown his low growl out. "Could you explain to me again why we're charged with this fee?" She asked in her administrator voice, being used to dealing with situations that weren't all that different. Oddly enough for the same reason as now standing beside her right now.

Sighing the officers face dropped and he started in an accented English again. "You were both in the lavatories... - nothing illegal but when the hôstesse – how do you say?" He gestured with his hands, trying to find the right word in a rarely used language. "Stewardess." He looked proud while House and Cuddy grew more annoyed by the second, the later one hiding it better. "tried to get you to take your seat again, you" He looked pointedly at House. "Hurled insults at her, threatening 'to tear her another one' if she touched you again and publicly insinuating that she was just interrupting you because she was jealous. She sued you." Now even the short, mild tempered man seemed to get enraged. "You've hit a man who made a crude comment, proposing Madame Cuddy... " At that moment it was she who held up her hand, nodding. She'd heard enough, they'd missed their connecting flight to Normandy while their luggage unfortunately had moved on to Normandy.

"We understand. We'll have the money transferred as soon as possible." Giving him her well practised smile that didn't reach her eyes. She wanted to just get to a shower and collapse into a bed, possibly before her lovely boyfriend was starting another lawsuit. The officer smiled a thankful smile, turning around already, hoping that he'd never see the strange Americans again.

Grabbing her purse she was beat and hoped that House was as well. Grabbing his arm like you would with a petulant child she dragged him out of the police station, thankful that he was tired – or smart – enough to keep his mouth shut.


	4. Chapter 4

Standing on the sidewalk in front of the police station Cuddy stopped. Now that the two of them were on their own and free to go where they pleased they didn't know what to do. Neither of them had any clothes – their luggage vacationing in Normandy while they were stuck in Paris -, his Euros in his checked luggage. At least her credit cards and dollars remained with her in her purse.

"Now what?" This time it was Cuddy who said it. She rarely was without a plan but at the moment she was glad for any input. Twisting her neck to look up at House who was standing slight behind her to the left.

At least he knew some French, she on the other hand could only take an educated guess what the signs around them were advertising. "Didn't a very smart, bootylicious woman once asked, why do you always have to analyse things to death?" She scowled at him throwing her words from their first night as lovers back at her. It hadn't been the first time physically but it had been in every other sense of the word, never had they been so open, so accessible and so loving with each other or anyone else for that matter.

Her hands finding their place on her hipbones she dared him to make another smart remark. He conceded, knowing that in the long run keeping her happy would keep him happy. "We can't take a cab, I don't think they accept dollars here and I'm guessing you don't have any Euros on you... Of course in Europe banks are closed at this time." He was right, she just had to look across the deserted street. There wasn't much going on, it was almost midnight now. A cold gust of air rose goosebumps on her exposed skin.

House pulled her close, rubbing over her blazer clad arms, trying to warm her up.

"Let's go find a hotel." With his arm around her he tugged her to the right of where they were standing, both their cellphone battery's long dead. He figured they'd find a place to sleep. He really didn't care, if spending the night in dingy hotel rooms all over the states that hookers had chosen, had one good thing it was that he didn't need a 4 star luxury suite to snore in. He wasn't so sure about Cuddy though she certainly deserved more. If it was up to House he wanted her to sleep in goddamn Versailles.

Thought after a good half an hour, the two of them had to admit that they'd walked right into a residential area rather than the city center. Once in his life he could have actually used his cellphone for something useful and it was dead, of course. What was it was cellphones anyway? You paid enormous amounts of money for them, then every month you paid horrendous bills for services you didn't really need, not to mention roaming fees abroad but whenever you truly need them they are out of reception or dead.

He didn't like to admit it it but part of the reason the situation pissed him off the was it did was because it put Cuddy in danger. He was a tall man. But he had a limp. Any thief or rapist would have an easy time overpowering him and then taking whatever they wanted from Cuddy. He squeezed her shoulders tighter, holding her has tight as he could while the two of them walked back.

"You alright?" Cuddy knew him well enough to notice the small changes, his tensed posture, his arm tightening around her. "How's your leg? Do you need a break?" She was exhausted and gross, sweaty and achy, but the minute she thought that he could be hurting all that didn't matter. Crouching down, she let her finger tips graze over the area where she knew the surgeon had mangled his thigh. Looking up into his eyes, the way she had done that first night.

Pulling her up by her arms, he wanted to continue to walk, as long as he was moving his pain was tolerable, thinking of Cuddy being in harms way, possibly with him dead or injured on the sidewalk, was enough to motivate him to keep going and push his pain away till she was save.

The streetlights barely offered her enough light to discern the look on his face but what she saw scared her. He was afraid. Of what she didn't know but there was an urgency and longing shining in his blue eyes that had her holding her breath. Taking his hand to steady herself again she never broke their locked gazes. Why would he be afraid of losing her? He laid the world at her feet, did everything to make her happy. Sometimes his well intended ideas backfired, made her miserable or angry but his goal was always to make her happy, to make her love him even more. One little mishap - that she'd initiated no less - wasn't going to change that. "Hey, House, I love you. This might not be the vacation I wanted..." 'but you tried?' No she didn't want him to feel as a failure. "but we're together, in Paris!" It was true, though right now Paris was a mighty scary place for him.

His arm back around her shoulders they continued their track back to the police station and hopefully to a hotel of sorts, Cuddy trying to take as much of his weight as she could. Both of them knew he could walk, but both of them also knew that they might still be walking for another hour and that added to the stress his leg was put through on the plane, they knew he wouldn't last all night.

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I know updates are slow but I'm still trying to get the hang of it.

Also this story might soon move to a more Mature rating, just to let you know. Also thanks for the lovely reviews, hope you are still enjoying this.


	5. Chapter 5

Falling back onto the hard mattress forced all the air out of her lungs in a groan. Her hair sticking to her sweaty face.

Taking a deep calming breath she spoke softly to nobody in particular. "That certainly wasn't how I expected this day to go..."

House, exhausted and in pain, had collapsed on the couch in the other room, he was barely able to make out that she'd said anything and he didn't care; Clutching his thigh he knew that the next few hours were unpleasant at best, unbearable at worst. He tried to massage the stiffness away without actually touching any of the scar tissue, consciously knowing that it wouldn't bring him any relieve. He'd overdone it that day, first the long flight and then the trip to the police station before walking around nightly Paris for hours, trying to find a roof over their head and a bed. Not to mention all the time being worried for Cuddy's safety, he didn't care so much for his own but he'd never forgive himself if anything would have happened to his boss.

Now the vacation, their first vacation would suffer. It wouldn't be perfect. Maybe Cuddy would even have to take care of him. He didn't even want to entertain the notion but he was at an 8 at least. This way he couldn't follow her to the Eiffel Tower or stroll leisurely past the Moulin Rouge.

Pushing herself up seemed like a Herculean effort to her but she didn't want to fall asleep on her own. She'd done it way too many times in her life. While she'd been able to achieve professional success through hard work and persistence, she hadn't been so fortunate in her private life. Even when she had been with Lucas, she'd often fallen asleep on one side of the bed, him on the other, if he even bothered to come to her bed at all. Those moments, lying in bed on her own, made her feel truly alone. Because at night she didn't have budget reports to go over, lawyers to appease or donors to schmooze, at night she only had herself and now and again a crying or frightened Rachel when she'd have had a nightmare. But rarely companionship, and never warmth.

"House?" She spoke up a little, leaning against the frame of the door that led to the bedroom, trying to make out his hunched over figure. She was used to seeing him in pain. Too used to it, she thought bitterly. A year ago she would have immediately jumped to get him something stronger, but now that he was finally letting her in, she knew that this was what he dealt with day in, day out. There wasn't a small amount of guilt squeezing her heart but she knew he didn't blame her anymore, so she should bury the grief as well. The past was the past.

Still approaching she moved slow and gentle, keeping the movements she did make soft, like she would with a scared animal. Or a hurt one."Can you make it to the bed?" She had different pain killers in her purse, but the injections for emergencies like this were in their checked luggage.

Looking up at her, his blue eyes were clenched to near slits, the pain was clear, recoiling her hand momentarily. She knew he just wanted to spend the rest of the night on the couch, but the two of them knew that it would make tomorrow all the harder.

Groaning he hoisted himself up on his cane and on her shoulder. Stumbling they crossed the room, her keeping her eyes on the ground for anything they might trip on. House tried to take as much of his own weight and 'be a man' about the short walk, driving his teeth into his bottom lip till he could smell the stale, metallic taste of his own blood, swallowing it, hoping she wouldn't notice. And she didn't, not in the dark room, or at least she didn't let anything on.

Finally they'd made it, neither of them knowing what time it was anymore. Hearing soft huffs of air being released she realized that House was slowly drifting off. Part of her brain told her to brush her teeth, get House to brush his, take care of her make up and both of them to change. But there wasn't anything to change into. And he was already out. She'd seen the pain earlier in his eyes, nothing could have made her wake him again. At least now she knew he had a modicum of peace.

Cuddy knew from experience that he wasn't gonna wake anymore, and that was probably good that way. Using the foreign adapter she plugged her phone in, pushed her skirt to the floor, before toeing off her heels and crawling into bed.

Gently she wrapped a hand around his wrist and spread his arm wide, using it as a pillow. Turning into his side, the steady drum of his heart the last thing she heard before surrendering to exhaustion.

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Thank you to Abby and HuddyGirl, I hope you guys enjoy this =) You two truly are the reason I keep going.


	6. Chapter 6

I'm sorry about the slow updates, I've just gotten a new job. Life is hectic and my muse as you say isn't quite doing her job. But the lovely reviews, follows and faves do keep me wanting to make this better. I'll try to get a longer chapter up tomorrow. (And maybe edit this again, it's 2:13 am so I'll need to really sleep now) I also kinda know where I want this story to go but input would be welcome, again my muse is absent lol. Anyway enjoy, or should I say suffer along ;)

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A hard slap to her side woke Cuddy from her slumber. She wasn't sure where she was, her eyes darting around the unfamiliar bedroom, she wasn't in her creme colored one at home, nor in House's mess. On the other hand she also didn't have enough of a headache to explain memory loss. Heavy breathing had her almost afraid to turn and look beside her where the only sound in the room emitted from.

Teeth clenching, air forcing it's way through had her turn her head. House. Paris. Their little private encounter. It had all lead to this. Neither of them was a certified doctor in this country, painkillers might as well have only been available on the moon right now. He was sweating, tossing and turning in agony, trying to find a position that was comfortable while his thigh exploded. It was a strange mix of sensations, it was almost on fire, but then it also felt like it was just being ripped open by the claws of a vicious animal. In that moment, in that single moment, Cuddy in his bed he would have given anything for a Vicodin even if it meant losing Cuddy.

His eyes shot open, frantically darting from one corner of the room to the next settling only with great difficulty on her. The thought scared him. Nothing was worth more than her. It was just in his addicted mind planting thoughts into his heart. Did he even have a heart?

House wanted to dig his hand into the lost muscle, make the pain stop. He knew from experience that in pain like this it wouldn't help, it'd only make it worse, so he hovered it above his stomach.

Maybe his father had been right, he was a-

"I'm here." Those two words interrupted him, sometime in the past few moments Cuddy had managed to get up without him noticing, wet a towel and dab his sweaty face. "What do you need?" The doctor in her knew his mind needed Vicodin, his body morphin, they had neither. Looking deep into his eyes she tried to keep him awake, keep him coherent. That moment when he raised his eyes to hers, she could see him, he was with her, not caught in a world full of pain and his own thoughts. Cuddy couldn't take his blood pressure but it didn't take a genius to figure out that he was in danger of have a cardiac arrest or of slipping a coma.

"You didn't get any sleep..." It was more of a question than a statement and she felt an undeniable pang of guilt hit her that she'd slept so peacefully and restfully for most of the night. All the while he'd been in quiet agony, trying not to wake her. He meekly shook his head, he sometimes hated her Jewish guilt complex.

Her hand rested in the middle of his chest, feeling his heart beat rapidly just an inch underneath her porcelain skin when he suddenly felt rigid as a stone to her. At first she thought he was seizing but she saw him tensed up, bowed off the bed into her palm. It was almost like he climaxed, only this time she knew the cause of his contractions were not pleasure but extreme pain.

She hadn't felt this helpless since getting the call that her father had died. Looking around the room she was desperately thinking if there was any way that she could make this stop without leaving him. Help him without admitting him to a hospital. Holding her breath, she looked upwards, silently praying to whatever god there was to help him. "Breath House." If it created opening in her, maybe it would in him too?


End file.
